Category Archives: Bishop James Wall

Editorial: Gallup Diocese re-abuses victims with settlement

Friday, July 22nd, 2016 at 12:02am

From the Link: http://www.abqjournal.com/812414/gallup-diocese-reabuses-victims-with-settlement.html

The Diocese of Gallup drives a hard bargain – one in which truth is a casualty.

In the case of the $21 million settlement to victims of priest sexual abuse it’s a deal that essentially re-abuses the victims by making them fear they might lose their hard-fought settlements if they reveal details of their abuse. In one case, a victim was so afraid of court sanctions he did not dare to look at the one record that pertained to his abuse.

The court-approved settlement agreement allows a victim just a one-time “eyes only” access to a single file pertaining to that victim’s abuser. It strictly prohibits sharing or duplicating the password-protected electronic contents, which will be destroyed after a year.

The diocese threatened to withdraw the settlement when attorneys for the victims sought to have the church publicly release personnel files of accused priests.

Such a bully tactic certainly seems to indicate a lack of contrition. But it appears to be business as usual for the church, whose leadership for years kept hidden from its faithful members the abuse visited on innocent children by some clergy.

Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester, whose areas of oversight includes the Gallup Diocese and who has said he won’t tolerate abuse, should use his influence to correct this poor treatment of past victims.

The church routinely stakes out what it believes is the high moral ground on issues ranging from abortion to immigration to end of life. That’s not the case when it comes to the past misdeeds of its clergy and the impact on finances. Its position on these records shows that maintaining secrecy about abuse and how it was handled are its top priorities.

An undated letter posted on the diocese’s website from Gallup Bishop James S. Wall states his “ongoing commitment to protection of children and to further my goal of transparency within this Diocese, we have determined that there are additional priests against whom there have been credible allegations of child abuse who worked in various places within the Diocese.” It states that their names, places and dates of service and those of previously named priests will be posted on the website.

Wall’s letter also states that the “survivors who have come forward should be commended for their bravery and courage, and I express my deepest apologies for the actions of those who violated the trust of the survivors and the parishioners within the Diocese by committing these terrible acts.”

Despite those promises of transparency and support for victims, the diocese’s hypocritical take-it-or-leave-it deal is punitive, essentially re-abusing the victims. So when Bishop Wall ascends to the pulpit to lecture on the moral topic of the day, he should reconsider the church’s policy of continuing to conceal decades of predatory criminal activities.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

Honestly? I could give two flying shits less, what you scumbag, pedophile loving, pew polishing, demonic shit stains on the underwear of humanity of the Unholy Roman Catholic Cult say, or whether YOU like what I am doing here or not. And I am DAMN SURE YOU are not going to like what I am going to say in this posting, but again, I could give two flying shits less if YOU do or not.

Plain and simple, rabid dogs deserve more mercy than any of you shit stain scumbags of this cult of pedophiles. A rabid dog does NOT know what it is doing. But all your disgusting, demonic, scumbag Pedophile Pimps do. All of you do. Each and every one of you low-life, scumbag pedophiles? Each and every one of your Pedophile Pimps? Each and every one of you retarded, brain-dead, brain-washed, pieces of shit pew polishers who defend them?

ARE ALL DESERVING OF DEATH, AND A DEATH THAT WILL INCLUDE YOU SCUMBAGS BEING TORTURED WITH YOUR OWN TOOLS OF YOUR INQUISITIONS, BEFORE WE CUT YOUR FUCKING HEADS OFF, PUT THEM ON PIKES IN FRONT OF YOUR VATICAN AND YOUR CHURCHES WITH THE WARNING THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ANY OF YOU SCUM WHO MESS WITH OUR CHILDREN.

I agree with your Saint Peter Damian when he said the following all the way back in 1049:

“Saint” Peter Damian

“Listen, you do-nothing superiors of clerics and priests. Listen, and even though you feel sure of yourselves, tremble at the thought that you are partners in the guilt of others; those, I mean, who wink at the sins of their subjects that need correction and who by ill-considered silence allow them license to sin. Listen, I say, and be shrewd enough to understand that all of you alike are deserving of death, that is, not only those who do such things, but also they who approve those who practice them.”

Letter 31, the Book of Gomorrah [Liber Gomorrhianus], containing the most extensive treatment and condemnation by any Church Father of clerical pederasty

YOU ALL CALL YOURSELVES THE ONE TRUE CHURCH OF JESUS, THE ONE HE OFFICIALLY STARTED. YOU CALL YOURSELVES THE HOLY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THEN WITH ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE TO CHILDREN AND TEENS? RAPING THEM? BRUTALIZING THEM? BEATING THEM? ENSLAVING THEM? USING THEM AS MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS INCLUDING FORCED STERILIZATIONS AND ABORTIONS? AND EVEN MURDERING THEM? THEN YOU GOT THE UNMITIGATED BALLS TO STATE TO ALL OF US HOW YOU ARE THE PROTECTORS AND DEFENDERS OF CHILDREN BECAUSE OF YOUR STANCE AGAINST ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTIVES?

WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TRYING TO FOOL OR CON?

THEN? YOU FUCKING ATTACK US? YOU INSULT US? YOU DENIGRATE US? YOU CALL US THE LIARS, THE GOLD DIGGERS OUT LOOKING FOR A PAYDAY?

OR BECAUSE WE SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE CRIMES…NOT THE SINS….COMMITTED AGAINST US, HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF US? HELL MILLIONS OF US ALL THROUGH THE HISTORY OF YOUR DAMNABLE CULT? YOU DARE CALL US ANTI-CATHOLIC BIGOTS AND HATERS OUT TO DESTROY YOUR CHURCH?

Bill “Pig Face” Donohue, degenerate leader of the Catholic League

OR SHIT STAINS LIKE BILL PIG FACE DONOHUE OF THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE SAYS BECAUSE WE DID NOT PUNCH OUR RAPISTS IN THE FACE, THAT MEANS WE WANTED IT, WE ENJOYED IT AND WE ARE HOMOSEXUALS BECAUSE OF IT?

OR THAT WE SEDUCED OUR RAPISTS?

OR ALL THE OTHER EVIL, DISGUSTING, SHITTY THINGS YOU SAY AGAINST US?

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!!! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU ATTACK US AND DEFEND YOUR CRIMINALS? HOW FUCKING DARE YOU DO THIS TO US? WHO SUFFERED INCREDIBLE HORRORS, PAIN AND SUFFERING BECAUSE YOUR SHIT STAIN PRIESTS, BROTHERS, NUNS AND SISTERS FUCKED US, RAPED US, TORTURED US, BEAT US, BRUTALIZED US AND MURDERED US!!!!

WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? WHY I KNOW WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE.

YOU ARE SCUM, YOU ARE FUCKING DEMONS IN HUMAN FLESH, YOU ARE THE LOWEST FORM OF HUMAN LIFE ON THE EARTH, YOU DESERVE NO RIGHTS, YOU DESERVE NO MERCY, YOU DESERVE NO COMPASSION, YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT FUCKING DEATH!!

PLAIN AND SIMPLE, YOU GODDAMN PEDOPHILE PIMPS, YOU POPE FRANCIS, YOU POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI, YOU PEDOPHILE CARDINALS, BISHOPS AND ARCHBISHOPS, YOU PEDOPHILE PRIESTS, BROTHERS, NUNS AND SISTERS AND ALL OF YOU SCUMBAG PEW POLISHERS WHO STAND UP AND DEFEND THEM AND ATTACK US? ARE FUCKING DESERVING OF DEATH, JUST LIKE YOUR SAINT PETER DAMIAN PROCLAIMED IN 1049.

SO FUCK YOU ALL.

OH AND I TRULY WISH YOU ASSHOLE, SCUMBAG, PEDOPHILE LOVING AND DEFENDING SHITSTAIN ROMAN CATHOLIC PEW POLISHERS WHO SPEW YOUR SHIT TO ME, WHO THREATEN ME WITH DEATH? WHO SAY I SHOULD BE RAPED? WHO SAY I AND MY SONS SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH FOR SPEAKING OUT?

WELL I FUCKING WISH, I REALLY WISH, WITH ALL OF MY HEART AND SOUL, WITH ALL OF MY BEING, YOU WOULD HAVE THE BALLS TO SAY YOUR SHIT TO MY FACE, IN PERSON, BECAUSE FUCKING TRUST ME IF YOU DID?

YOU WOULD FIND OUT IF YOUR GOD AND JESUS ARE REAL, CAUSE I WOULD HAVE NO FUCKING PROBLEM….IN BEATING YOU TO DEATH WITH MY FISTS AND FEET RIGHT ON THE SPOT THE MOMENT YOU OPEN YOUR PEDOPHILE LOVING OUTHOUSE PIEHOLES TO ME.

From the Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/defiance-and-obstruction-on-child-sex-abuse/2016/04/19/22efc3de-0351-11e6-9d36-33d198ea26c5_story.html

IN THREE years at the helm of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has been a source of inspiration for millions of faithful around the world. In one critical respect, however, he has fallen short of his own promise: to come fully to terms with decades of child sex abuse by clergymen and the institutional cover granted to them by bishops and cardinals.

Francis has pledged “the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all.” Yet there has been scant accountability, particularly for bishops. Too often, the church’s stance has been defiance and obstruction.

In his trip to the United States in the fall, Francis told victims that “words cannot fully express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered.” Yet his initiative to establish a Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who enabled or ignored pedophile priests has come to naught. Not a single bishop has been called to account by the tribunal, which itself remains more notional than real.

Meanwhile, church officials have fought bills in state legislatures across the United States that would allow thousands of abuse victims to seek justice in court. The legislation would loosen deadlines limiting when survivors can bring lawsuits against abusers or their superiors who turned a blind eye. Many victims, emotionally damaged by the abuse they have suffered, do not speak until years after they were victimized; by then, in many states, it is too late for them to force priests and other abusers to account in court.

Eight states have lifted such deadlines, known as statutes of limitations, for victims who are sexually abused as minors. Seven states have gone further, enacting measures allowing past victims — not just current and future ones — to file lawsuits in a finite period of time, generally a two- or three-year window.

In many more states, however, the bishops and their staffs have successfully killed such bills, arguing that it would be unfair to subject the church to lawsuits in which memories and evidence are degraded by the passage of time. Quietly, they also say the church, which has suffered an estimated $3 billion hit in settlements and other costs related to clergy sex abuse scandals nationwide, can ill afford further financial exposure.

A typical case is Maryland, where bills to extend the statute of limitations until the alleged victim turns 38 have failed even to come to a vote, owing to opposition from House of Delegates Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George’s) and the Catholic Church, among others.

In his trip to the United States, Pope Francis praised bishops for what he called their “generous commitment to bring healing to victims” and he expressed sympathy for “how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you.” Yet by its actions, the church’s “commitment to bring healing” has seemed far from generous. And it seemed perverse to address the bishops’ “pain” when the real suffering has been borne by children.

The Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., this week released an updated list of priests, including at least 17 priests who worked in Arizona, who it says were “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors.

Many of the cases date back decades and led to investigations and criminal charges, said Suzanne Hammons, a spokeswoman for the diocese.

“We still feel a sense of responsibility because it happened in our church,” Hammons said.

An Arizona lawyer who represents accusers praised the diocese for its transparency, saying it will help bring “healing” to the Catholic Church. But Robert Pastor also said that “credibly accused” is an arbitrary term.

“In that context, the Catholic Church acts as judge and jury,” he said. “Historically, the Catholic Church and its managers have used the phrase ‘credibly accused’ to justify hiding pedophile priests. … The Catholic Church needs a cultural shift in which no parent, grandparent, teacher or layperson should feel afraid or otherwise second-guess themselves when a child discloses sexual abuse.”

A spokeswoman for a support group said that the list is a step in the right direction but that the church needs to do more.

Founded in 1939, the diocese encompasses Arizona’s Apache, Navajo and Coconino counties as well as counties in northwestern New Mexico.

The 17 priests worked in Arizona as recently as 2013 and as far back as 1951. At least six of the Arizona priests are listed as deceased.

The list of 30 clergy members and one layperson includes the names, places and dates of service of what the diocese said were credibly accused personnel, but it does not outline any criminal charges, sanctions or the number of sexual-abuse accusers.

Hammons said some sanctions were imposed on “a few of the priests,” but she did not have further details.

Some of them were removed by Catholic leadership or later left the priesthood, she said.

Hammons said the details can be difficult to determine because the process for dealing with credibly accused priests “has changed throughout the decades.”

Some of the priests worked in areas now under another diocese, including Prescott, Kingman, Clarksdale, Flagstaff, Seligman and Yarnell, Hammons said.

Bishop James Wall of the Gallup Diocese was not available for comment.

Under Wall, Hammons said, any priest with a credible accusation made against him “is suspended from ministry, and law enforcement is notified, and the priest remains suspended until the investigation concludes.”

“Credibly accused” means an investigation was conducted, particularly by outside law-enforcement authorities, who determined there was a credible accusation, Hammons explained. The diocese does not know how many or which cases were prosecuted by law enforcement, she said.

In some cases, the priests were sent out for rehabilitation, the spokeswoman said.

“Basically, it’s not just someone saying, ‘This person abused me,’ and we immediately put their name up,” Hammons said. “If their name is on there, it means there is evidence.”

Wall wanted to release the names “ever since he became bishop of Gallup” in 2009, Hammons said. Wall previously worked as a parish priest in Phoenix, according to previous reports in The Arizona Republic.

In a statement on the diocese website, Wall said he sent letters to each parish, mission and school within diocese territory where a ministering priest was found to have “credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”

With most of the cases, the accusations are old and not necessarily ongoing anymore, Hammons said.

“What is ongoing is determining if there were any more credible accusations on top of those that are already on the list, and we may add more names in the future,” she said.

Pastor, the attorney for abuse accusers, said the disclosure is “a long time coming.”

“It is a first step that will hopefully help those who were sexually abused by Catholic priests,” he said. “I also hope it will help bring healing to the greater church as a whole.”

The list isa first step in the right direction for the church, said Barbara Dorris, outreach coordinator for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

Still, Dorris said, bishops promised in 2002 “to be open, honest and transparent.” She argued that the Catholic Church has not done enough to address the sexual abuse of minors.

“It feels like they only do the bare minimum and only when forced,” Dorris said. “They have had years to do outreach, to try to find those people who have been hurt, to work with law enforcement to get to the truth in these cases, and yet they have done very little.”

The 2002 U.S. bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, known as the Dallas Charter, was an attempt to address the sexual-abuse scandal and protect children from abusive clergy members.

Dorris said many of the priests whose names were on the list are still alive “and, we fear, still have access to children.”

“We feel they have a moral obligation to do everything in their power to warn the community so children will be safe,” she said.

Richard Sipe, a former priest from La Jolla, Calif., who has written books about the practice of religious celibacy, said the release of the list is positive because it can encourage more accusers to step forward.

“The concern is about the victims who have come forward, and the victims who have not come forward, and who are out there suffering,” said Sipe, a certified counselor who was trained to deal with the mental-health problems of priests. “The truth frees us. … It is acknowledged when people have the courage to face the problem.”